


The Fall of a Cherry Blossom

by A_Creative_Alias, ExplodingCookie



Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Mind Control, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-18
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-07-14 02:57:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16031540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_Creative_Alias/pseuds/A_Creative_Alias, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ExplodingCookie/pseuds/ExplodingCookie
Summary: As a healer for the Order of Heroes, Sakura of Hoshido has her work cut out for her. However, being insecure and exhausted makes her an easy target for darker forces...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! Welcome to my new story! I am writing this with my friend, ExplodingCookie (check them out!) based on an idea he had. We have it all planned out, so hopefully it should go well. Just a quick note about my other story, Persona 5: Lost Stories, I will be getting back to that once I finish with this story. I'm sorry for just leaving it, but I had a busier summer that I expected. Anyway, we hope you enjoy!

Kiran, more commonly known in the Order of Heroes as the Summoner, had just come out of a meeting with Alfonse and the other tacticians. After the war with Múspell, there was much to plan. Kiran had been in Askr for over a year now after practically falling from the sky. Nobody knows exactly where he came from, but they’re glad he did. The Order had already been through two wars since he arrived, but thanks to his unique ability to summon heroes from other worlds, they had managed to be victorious in both.

As Kiran was leaving the meeting, he noticed someone coming towards him. Sakura, the young princess of a land called Hoshido approached the Summoner with her trademark shy expression.

“Hello, Summoner. I-I have something to give you,” she said nervously, handing the young man a small letter.

“Thank you, Sakura. You know you can just call me Kiran like the others right? There’s no need to be so formal with me.” Kiran replied with a smile. He had known that Sakura had trouble coming out of her shell, so he always tried his best to make her feel comfortable. “Oh! It’s from Anna.” He reads the letter twice over before folding it up. “She was just asking for updates on our most recent meeting. She still hasn’t returned from helping in Nifl.”

“O-oh. It’s nice that she’s helping out.” The Summoner took out their wallet and put the folded note inside it. “Umm, Summ- Kiran, what are those?” she asked, pointing at the green papers in Kiran’s wallet.

“These?” he said, taking out one of the papers, “This is money where I’m from. Want to take a look?” He handed Sakura one of the bills and she looked it over.

“Who’s Washington?” She asked while looking at the portrait on the bill.

“He was the first leader of my homeland. They call the leaders of my country presidents. He was the first one. He was a famous general in a big war that freed my nation from being controlled by another.” Kiran explained. He didn’t remember everything about his past life, but memories had returned to him over time.

“Was he anything like my brother?” she asked, handing back the dollar to Kiran.

“Not exactly.” the Summoner began explaining, “President Washington was a general before he became president. He didn’t fight during his time as president. Besides, a president’s time for ruling has a limit. Every 4 years the people vote on who they want to lead them.”

Sakura nodded in understanding. “That sounds like a weird way to run a country. Not that I’m saying that your homeland is weird! I-I just-” Sakura tried to clarify, but she only managed to stutter awkwardly as Kiran laughed.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not really something that anyone else here gets anyway.” Kiran said. “I think you’re getting more comfortable here, Sakura. You actually managed to hold a conversation with me for a long time. I’m proud of you.” He smiled a the princess who just started to blush and stutter harder than before.

Just as she was about to say something, Alfonse came out of the war room. “Kiran, have you heard from Anna yet?”

“Yeah, we just got a letter from her a few minutes ago. She says that the reconstruction in Nifl is going well, but it’ll still take some time.” Kiran replied, taking out the letter again and handing it to the Askr prince, who read it over.

“I see. Well, at least the rebuilding is going smoothly. We can’t ask for much more than that.” said the prince. “Would you mind helping me in the armory? Anna’s sister just brought over some new weapons that we need to inventory.”

“Sure, I don’t mind.” He turned to Sakura. “We’ll talk more about presidents later then. See you later, Sakura.” Kiran and Alfonse then left for the armory.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that evening, Sakura was attending to Fjorm, a princess from the icy kingdom of Nifl, along with Lissa, who was also a princess from a land called Ylisse, and Maribelle who also hailed from the same nation.

“I’m terribly sorry to say, Princess Fjorm, that there is little more we can do for your condition,” Maribelle said. She was the best at delivering bad news to patients.

“That’s quite alright. I understand. Thank you for all your help.” the Ice Princess replied with what Sakura could tell was a fake smile. “I’ve made peace with my fate. My country is safe and that is all I can ask for.” The war against Múspell had taken its toll on everyone, but no one more than Fjorm. She had performed a ritual that would help them in winning the war, but at the cost of her health. The aftereffects of the ritual would eventually prove fatal.

Sakura went to clean her medical tools and started yawning. “You should get some sleep, Sakura. Maribelle and I can handle things here.” Lissa said. Lissa was always looking out for Sakura. It was almost like having another sister. As cheery as she looked on the outside, Sakura knew that Lissa also carried a deep sadness in her heart. She had heard from Robin that Lissa and Chrom’s older sister had died during a war in their world.

“Please dear, do get some rest. I cannot have you getting sick now.” Maribelle urged. “Go on. We can handle the rest down here.”

“T-thank you,” Sakura replied with another yawn. She bowed to her fellow healers and Fjorm and left for her room.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Order of Heroes castle was immense. Corrin had once said that it was bigger than the castles in Hoshido and Nohr put together. With how tired she sometimes got from walking to her room, she believed it.

As Sakura went to turn the corner, she heard a door open from behind her. She turned around to find herself face to face with Robin. Except, it wasn’t the Robin that she liked. This Robin was possessed by a being known as Grima, an individual whom Sakura had learned was not to be trusted.

“What are you doing up at this hour, young one? You should be asleep like the rest of the worms.” Grima said in his usual sinister tone. Sakura didn’t like the way his stare always felt like it was looking into her soul.

“I-I-I was j-just about to-” she was cut off by Grima moving towards her, backing her into a corner.

“You really shouldn’t be out this late. You never know what could happen in the dark,” he said as he moved closer and closer to the young priestess.

“N-no! Please g-get away!” Sakura pleaded. Grima, however, didn’t listen. Instead, he put his hand on her head.

“Hmm, you have a lot going on in here. Always feeling like you’re not doing enough. Never believing that you deserve to be a princess.” Grima grinned. ”I can help you with that you know. You need not feel inadequate anymore.”

“W-What?” Sakura asked, more out of fear than curiosity as she looked up at Grima’s face. The moment her eyes met the piercing red orbs, she knew she had made a huge mistake. As Sakura collapsed to the floor, all she could hear was the malicious laughter of the Fell Dragon in her head. She had let Grima in...


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Fell Dragon Grima is now in control of Sakura! However, not everyone has turned a blind eye to her change in character...

“Please! Leave me alone!” Sakura cried into the black abyss. She kept trying to call out for help, but no sound came out.

“It’s no use, girl, nobody can save you now. Just submit.” said a malicious voice that seemed to come from all around her. “You are mine now.”

“Please… please.” Sakura continued to cry in a slowly weakening tone. “Someone…”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several days later, Lucina, the mysterious time traveler of Ylisse, was waiting for her aunt Lissa to be finished in the infirmary. There had been a small skirmish near the castle. A few bandits had attacked the patrol squad but were quickly stomped out. However, Ryoma, the high prince of Hoshido, had been injured in the fight, along with Soren, a mage from the continent of Tellius. Lucina had decided to sit on one of the unused beds in the infirmary while she waited. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ryoma!” Sakura called out inside her head. “What happened to him?!”

“The fool got himself injured in a battle nearby. My my, it looks rather bad, doesn’t it?” the bodiless voice remarked before resuming its continuous torment. “It would be a shame if something were to happen to your dear brother, wouldn’t it?”

“I need to help him!” Sakura exclaimed at the voice. She tried to move towards him but was unable to. “Why can’t I move?!” she questioned, her panic evident in her voice.

The voice of Grima chuckled. “You have other priorities, my dear. That mage is far more useful than your pathetic brother. You’re going to be caring for him first. If you do as I say, maybe I’ll let you help your brother afterward.”

Without being able to respond, Sakura’s body started to move on its own towards Soren. She began to patch up his wounds by using her staff on him. 

“Thank you,” Soren said. He was a very blunt man who never showed feelings, but he wasn’t a bad guy. Even if he didn’t sound like it he was grateful for the care.

“A-anytime.” Sakura stuttered out. She didn’t know where the words came from. They seemed to have fallen out.

“Excellent work,” Grima praised mockingly. “I shall allow you to tend to your brother now.”

Almost instantly, Sakura rushed over to Ryoma and started to help in healing him. Meanwhile, Lucina had been watching carefully the whole time. She knew something was off.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Another few days pass after the incident in the infirmary. Lucina and Robin are sitting in the mess hall enjoying lunch.

“I still can’t believe that there weren’t any flowers in your time,” Robin said to Lucina, referencing a conversation they had some time back. “At least you can enjoy them now. The flowers here in Askr are unlike any I’ve ever seen.”

“Yes, I suppose That’s true.” the bluenette replied, but only with minimal attention to the conversation. She was too busy looking at Sakura, who had just entered the mess hall.

“Is something wrong, Lucina? You seem distant today.” Robin inquired.

“Hmm? Oh, yes I’m fine. I’ve just been thinking about something that happened the other day.” she told the tactician as she continued to watch Sakura.

Robin nodded in understanding. “Is there anything that I can help you with?” he asked. As Lucina went to respond, they were interrupted by yelling.

“I said get away from me!” Sakura screamed at Chrom, who looked very startled by her sudden outburst.

“S-sorry. I’ll just… sorry.” Chrom managed to stutter out before turning to leave the mess hall.

“What was that about?” Robin asked Lucina, as they watched the young priestess glare violently at Chrom’s back as he left. 

“This isn’t the first out of character thing I’ve seen her do in the past few days. A few days ago I saw her heal Soren of all people before her brother while they were in the infirmary.”

“That’s odd. I’ve always perceived her as putting her family above all else. But what do you think your father did to agitate her?” Robin inquired, his analytical mind at work.

“I’m not sure. I’m going to go find my father and ask him.” Lucina said as she stood up.

Robin stood as well. “That’s a good idea. Perhaps he will be able to shed some light on the situation.” They both left the mess hall together, leaving Sakura on her own.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

“Just because he said he didn’t do anything doesn’t mean he didn’t do something unintentionally. Your father is my best friend, but he’s a bit clueless at times.” Robin said as he and Lucina left Chrom’s room. They had asked him about what happened in the mess hall, but he was as confused as they were. “I don’t know. Maybe she’s just having a bad week. It happens to all of us.” Robin shrugged.

“I suppose that’s possible, but it still seems strange how out of character she’s been,” Lucina said as she continued to think. The duo continued walking until they ran into Celica, a priestess from the land they would later know to be Valm.

“Oh. Good evening you two. How are you?” Celica asked. Having being raised as royalty, she was always very polite and proper. She looked intently at Lucina. “Is something troubling you, Lucina? You appear to be distracted.”

“Hm? Oh yes, I’m fine.” the blue-haired princess replied. “I’m just concerned about Sakura. She’s been acting so strangely lately.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed it as well. It’s like the light that she once radiated has fallen to a dull glow.” Celica explained. “I do hope that she is alright. She’s a very sweet girl. I would hate for something to happen to her. Well, I wish you both well.” She continued on her way.

“At least we aren’t the only ones that have noticed,” Robin said, trying to get Lucina to feel better. “We should get some rest. It’s no use trying to figure out what’s going on if we can’t stay awake.”

“R-right. Have a good night Robin.” Lucina said, still lost in thought.

As Robin turned to walk away he thought aloud, “Bright light fallen dim… Such an odd phrasing.” And with that, he left for his room.

“Odd indeed…” Lucina thought as she made her way to her own room for the night.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Lucina laid in her bed, sleep didn’t come. She had been up for several hours thinking about what Celica had said. “Light fallen dim…” she thought out loud. She turned onto her side so that she faced the window of her room. She looked out at the moon, which was a thin crescent. She threw the words around in her head again and again. She looked over at the flowers on her window ledge. She thought back to her earlier conversation with Robin about there not being any flowers when Grima was in control. Suddenly, she shot up. “Grima,” she whispered to herself as she jumped out of bed and ran to Robin’s room.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When she arrived, she knocked a bit louder than she wanted, but she didn’t care. “Robin. Robin are you awake?” she whispered at the door. She heard a groan and moving around. Finally, the door opened to reveal the half-asleep tactician.

“Wha- Lucina? What’s up? Are you ok?” he groggily asked her.

“I figured it out!” she told him, pushing herself into his room.

“Figured what out?” he asked. It was plain on his face that he just wanted to go back to sleep.

“What Celica said! About Sakura’s light falling dim!” she hastily explained. “You were right. It was weird how she phrased it. But it was the words she used that made me figure it out. ‘Fallen’.”

Robin stared blankly at her for a moment before his face light up in realization. “You don’t think that he has anything to do with it, do you?” Robin understood what she meant. They both have had dealings with the Fell Dragon before.

“Sadly, I do. I think Sakura might be under the influence of Grima.” Lucina said sadly, looking down as she did so.

“Well, I suppose it’s a possibility. We know he can control people, but usually, only those who are weak-minded.” Robin reasoned, “Uhh myself not included, of course.” He quickly added.

“What do you suppose we do?” Lucina asked.

Robin thought a moment. “I suppose we just monitor him for the time being until we get something more concrete. After that we can inform the Summoner and Anna,” he said. “Now, it’s late. People might talk if they saw you in my room this late at night. Try to get some sleep. We have lots of work to do.”

Lucina got up and headed towards the door. “We will stop him, right?” she asked.

“We’ve done it before, we can do it again. I’m sure of it. I’m always three steps ahead, remember?”

Lucina smiled. “Right. Goodnight Robin.”

“Goodnight.” Robin yawned as he laid back down. They needed rest. Monitoring the Fell Dragon was no easy task. If they wanted to save Sakura, they needed to be at their full strength.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team of Robin, Lucina and Celica monitor Sakura in hopes of finding proof that Grima is controlling her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, we are now officially past the half way point on this story. We want to thank you all for 200+ hits so far. Every one of them means a lot to us. We hope you'll keep reading until the end!

Sakura floated in the darkness, alone, afraid and exhausted. She’d been there for what felt like an eternity. In reality, she had only been under Grima’s influence for a week, but it had taken its toll on her mind.

“No...more...” she moaned weakly. She could hardly keep her eyes open anymore.

“If you just submit, you can rest.” said the dark voice of Grima.

“R-rest?” Sakura asked, barely conscious.

“Yes. That’s what you want, isn’t it? I know you do. You want to rest.” Grima tempted. 

“I-I want t-to rest,” she repeated. She knew that she couldn’t cling to life much longer. At least she would be with her mother again, she kept thinking to herself.

“Gooood. Give in. Give me your body so that I may destroy this place. I think I’ll start with your family.” Grima said as his laugh filled the black void.

“M-my family?” Sakura thought. Thoughts of Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, and Corrin filled her mind. While she never cared much about herself, she loved her family above all else. She would do anything for them.

Anything.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next afternoon Lucina, Robin, and Celica had met in the mess hall. The Ylissians had explained the situation to Celica, who was more than happy to help. Being possessed was personal to her, so she didn’t want anyone else to go through it.

“Alright, here’s the plan.” Robin started, “Sakura normally comes in here around this time every day. If Grima is in control, he’ll be around too.”

“If we confirm that they share a link, what shall we do?” Celica asked.

“Then we’ll tell Kiran and Anna. Kiran told me that he has the ability to return heroes to where they came from. We’ll have him do that.” explained the tactician.

“The sooner we find proof, the sooner we get rid of that dastard,” Lucina said with a scowl. Her hatred for Grima was stronger than little else. She wanted nothing more than to get rid of him forever.

Almost on cue, Sakura walked in. The trio noticed that she seemed more rigid than usual. As she passed by the table that Chrom was sitting at, he stood up.

“Uhh, Princess Sakura. I, uhh, wanted to apologize for-” he tried to say to her, but Sakura kept walking. He sat back down, gloomy.

“Sense anything, Celica?” Robin asked.

“Hmm. Yes. Yes, I do feel something. Out in the hallway.” she replied, with her eyes still closed.

Lucina quickly got up, but before she could walk towards the door she was stopped by Robin.

“Don’t. I’ll go,” he said. “Grima won’t attack me. Meet me in the training room in ten minutes.” With that, he stood up and made his way towards the door. He pushed it open to see Grima leaning against the wall in the hallway.

“What are you doing here?” Robin asked, his hatred showing in his speech.

“Oh, nothing that concerns you, worm.” Grima grinned. “Now move along.”

Robin kept walking towards the training room, where Lucina and Celica soon met up with him.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“He was there,” Robin told them as they walked in. “He was in the hallway and he seemed focused on something.”

“Yes, I know. When you opened the door I was able to see him. I felt the link. It appears that Sakura is being controlled.” Celica said, looking down. The realization that an innocent young girl had been possessed by a dark entity hit too close to home for Celica.

“I’ll kill him!” Lucina yelled out in anger, her knuckles white and her face red. “I’ll tear his face off and burn him alive!”

“Technically it’s my face.” Robin chuckled but was met with an unamused glare from Lucina. “Sorry. Just trying to loosen the tension.”

“If we are to inform the Summoner, we should do so quickly. Sakura’s life is wearing thin.” Celica said, “We may not have much time left.”

“Right.” Robin said, “About this time, Kiran is probably in his office.”

“Then let’s go,” Lucina said, her voice filled with determination. She was ready to see Grima stopped again. The three of them left the training room and headed to Kiran’s office.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiran was sitting at his desk reading the latest report from Nifl. There was still a lot to do after the war. He heard several sets of loud footsteps coming from down the hall. Before he had a chance to get up and see what was going on, his door burst in and Lucina stood ran into his office, shouting incoherently.

“Whoa, wait wait wait. Lucina, calm down. I can’t understand you.” he said in a calming tone, trying to get her to relax. “Start from the beginning.”

She explained what they had discovered about Grima, with Robin and Celica helping to fill in some extra details.

After hearing the full story, the Summoner sat down at his desk and began writing a letter.

“I’m writing to Anna. I’m going to ask her to come back here. If what you say is true, then we have no time to waste.” he said. After he finished writing his letter, he stood up and went towards the now empty doorframe. “I’m going to go give this to Feh and then find Sakura. Maybe there’s a way I can break her free,” he said, patting the Breidablik at his side. With that he left the room, leaving the worried trio behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sakura's life starts to fade, the team finally put their plan into action in hopes of saving her. They just hope they aren't too late...

“What happened to you, worm? I cannot feel your presence anymore.” Grima said inside of Sakura’s mind, “Have you finally submitted to me?” His only response was silence. “Heh. I must say that I was impressed with how long you lasted. Not even my current host lasted eight days.” he smirked. “So then, who dies first? I could kill your sister, but she doesn’t seem like much of a problem yet. Your oldest brother, however, will certainly be troublesome.” His ramblings still garnered no answer. “Though, your other brother seems to be the one you’re the closest with. How about him?” he asked the void. “Yes. I think I will kill the archer first. Let’s get him out of the way.” After a few moments, Grima started to feel another presence growing rapidly.

“No! You won’t!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kiran sat on a bench in the castle gardens. He’d been looking for Sakura for several hours with no luck. “She wasn’t in her room, the mess hall or the infirmary. Where else could I check?” he thought to himself. His question was answered as he looked up to see Sakura walking towards him.

“H-Hello again, Kiran.” Sakura said, “I was wondering if we could continue our talk about presidents now.” Her voice sounded strained. Kiran assumed it was due to the stress of being possessed, but he didn’t let on.

“Of course. Let me grab my wallet.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the smooth, leather object. As he goes to take out a bill, Sakura’s fist slams into his face, knocking him over and causing him to drop the wallet. Sakura then grabbed the fallen object and fled the garden. Mia, a sword user from Tellius, and Matthew, a thief from Ostia, stopped their discussion and looked at then disoriented and bleeding Summoner.

“Dang! She got you good, Boss!” Mia said, as cheerfully as she always does. “I didn’t think she had that in her!” Matthew just nodded in agreement and looked in the direction Sakura ran.

As the Summoner stumbled while trying to get up, Lucina ran in and picked him back up. “Are you ok, Kiran?” she asked in a panic, “I saw what happened! Does Grima know?!”

Disoriented, the Summoner mumbles, “I-I don’t know.” He tried to walk on his own but was too dizzy. Lucina sat him back down on the bench.

“Let’s get you to the infirmary. My aunt Lissa can clean you up.” Lucina said, slinging Kiran’s arm around her shoulder and picking him back up. “Mia, can you find Robin and Celica and tell them to meet us in the infirmary?” Mia nodded and together they made their way to the infirmary.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So... what happened to you?” Lissa asked.

“I got punched in the face.” the Summoner replied, wincing in pain as she touched his nose.

“Well, it’s not broken, but you got hit pretty hard. Who was it that punched you? Did you annoy Hector again?” Lissa asked.

“No! I didn’t annoy anyone! Sakura punched me.” Kiran explained.

“What?! Sakura did this to you?” Lissa exclaimed, “She would never do that! I don’t even think she’s strong enough to do this much damage...”

“It’s likely that being possessed for this long increased her physical abilities,” Robin said as he and Celica walked in.

“Wha- possessed? Does someone want to explain what’s going on?” Lissa asked, the confusion on her face obvious.

“I would also like to know.” said a booming voice. Ryoma, Sakura’s oldest brother, had walked into the infirmary. “What have you done to my sister to get her to assault you, Summoner?” He glared intently at Kiran which sent shivers down his spine.

“Ryoma, please listen to me. Your sister has been possessed by Grima. I don’t know why or for how long, but she doesn’t have much time. We have to confront her now!” Kiran explained to the skeptical Ryoma.

“He’s telling the truth.” said Robin, “We’ve been monitoring her for a few days. Grima is in control now.”

“And you didn’t think to tell me? I’m her brother! I’m her guardian!” Ryoma shouted. His face reddening with anger.

“We figured that the fewer people who knew the better. We couldn’t have Grima catch on. We don’t know what could have happened to her if he found out we knew.” Robin explained, “We couldn’t put her at risk like that.”

“Hmm, I see. And you’re certain?” Ryoma asked. He seemed like he was starting to believe them.

“Yes. I have seen him do this many times to the people I love.” Lucina said, “And I never want to see it again.”

“We’re wasting time. We should find her.” Celica urged. The group agreed and they set out to find Sakura.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After an hour of searching, the group, now joined by Hinoka, Takumi, Hana, Subaki and Elise, found Sakura curled up in a ball in an abandoned hallway in the upper part of the castle.

“Sakura?” Hinoka called out, “Are you all right?”

She didn’t respond. As they got closer, they heard her mumbling to herself, but they couldn’t understand what she was saying.

“She’s fighting back for control against him! Come on, Sakura! You can do it!” he cheered.

Slowly, Sakura stood and turned to face them. “Ah, if it isn’t my former vessel. Come to stop me?” Sakura asked, but her voice sounded different. It sounded slightly deeper and more chilling.

Everyone was taken aback by this, especially her siblings and retainers.

“Get out of my sister’s head, you creep!” Hinoka yelled, but Robin held up his hand to get her to stop.

“Sakura, I know you’re in there and I know how you feel right now. Grima is making you feel useless, but you aren’t! Fight back!” Robin called to her.

“I believe in you, Sakura!” Elise cried. She was followed by everyone else in the hall shouting out their encouragements.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“My family. My friends. They’re trying to save me.” Sakura thought.

“But they will fail, as you always do. None of you pathetic mortals stand a chance against me. It’s as hopeless as you are!” Grima roared tauntingly. He was trying to crush her spirits so that she would stop fighting back, but it had the opposite effect on Sakura.

“No!” she yelled, “You’re wrong! They are not hopeless and neither am I! You just prey on the weak because you’re too afraid to pick on someone your own size! Now get out of my head!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grima and Sakura both screamed as the Fell Dragon’s influence was purged from her body. A purple mist left her mouth as his control was broken. She stared blankly at her loved ones before collapsing onto the ground.

“Sakura!” everyone cried out as they all went to help her.

“K-Kiran.” she said weakly from Ryoma’s arms, “G-Grima. He’s going to go to the…” The rest was said in a low whisper that only the Summoner could hear. After relaying her message, she fell unconscious.

Kiran stood up and turned to leave. “I know where Grima is headed.” He started to run down the hall.

“Where are you going?” Lucina called after him.

“To assemble a team!” he responded as he rounded a corner and ran out of sight.

“You can’t hide, Grima. Not from us.” he said to himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The (long awaited) conclusion of Sakura's dealings with Grima.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well it took long enough. Sorry for the wait. I had a convention and midterms this month so it's been busy. My co-writer and I want to thank you all for reading this far and keeping us going. We hope you enjoy the end to this story and stick around for our future works. So, from ExplodingCookie and myself, thank you!

Within an hour of Grima leaving Sakura’s mind, Kiran had assembled a team consisting of Lucina, Chrom, Robin, Marth, Alm, Julia and Ryoma. Anyone that looked at Kiran was immediately filled with fear. The only other time they had ever seen him looking so angry and determined was after Sutr murdered Gunnthrá.

With the team gathered in the castle’s entrance hall, Kiran stepped to the front of the room. “I’ve chosen you all because you have an advantage over Grima, or because you have a personal connection to this mission” he said, nodding in Ryoma and Robin’s direction. “For those of you who don’t know, Grima possessed Sakura of Hoshido and nearly killed her.” The few people who didn’t already know gasped in shock as the ones who knew nodded.

“We’ll make him pay with his life!” Lucina shouted, to which Ryoma grunted and nodded in agreement.

“All we have to do is weaken him enough for me to get close to him. Once I do, all I’ll have to do is fire Breidablik at him. This will send him back to his world. If we kill his vessel’s body here, he’ll likely escape and cause havoc in the future. This is our only option.” Kiran explained. He knew Lucina, Robin and Chrom would prefer to see him destroyed for good, but that wasn’t an option. “He’s going towards Embla, likely to seek an alliance with Veronica and her army.”

“We’ll stop him before he even leave the country!” Chrom said with a determined look in his eyes.

“With all the energy he used to control Sakura, he likely won’t be very fast in my body.” Robin explained, “This will give us a good chance to cut him off before he reaches the border.” 

“So that’s what we’ll do.” Kiran said, back turned to the rest, “Alright everyone, let’s finish this.” With that, the team left the castle and started to head for the Emblan border.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the medical center, Sakura woke with a start. “W-what happened? Where’s Grima?” she asked. Lissa walked over to her and placed her hand on her shoulder.

“It’s alright. Relax. Grima is gone. Kiran banished him a few days ago.” Lissa explained. “You’ve been asleep for most of the week now.”

“W-what?” Sakura asked. She was still very disoriented.

“Maybe I can help explain.” Robin walked into the room.”I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, Sakura.”

Sakura flinched at the sight of the man. For a brief moment, she thought he was Grima. Robin pretended he didn’t notice this, but the guilt started to rise from within him. “W-what happened with Grima?” she asked, hoping he didn’t notice her fear.

Robin sat down in a nearby chair. “Well, Kiran gathered a team of heroes with effectiveness against dragon units and we managed to cut him off before he reached Embla. It was close though. He was only a few miles from the border by the time we caught up with him. Once we did, we engaged him in a fight. The whole thing took almost an hour before Kiran could get close enough to blast him with Breidablik and send him back.”

“Was anyone hurt?” Sakura asked in fear. She didn’t want to be responsible for anyone being injured, or worse.

“Eh, a couple of cuts and burns here and there, but nothing that wasn’t patched up quickly.” Robin quickly replied. He knew how sensitive Sakura was and didn’t want to distress her. In reality, several heroes received broken bones, but they were mostly repaired by the clerics. He decided that Sakura didn’t need to know about that. Robin stood up. “While I’m glad to see that you’re alright, I should get going. Your family will arrive in a minute and I’d rather not be around when they do. They don’t exactly trust me right now.”

 

“What? Why not?” Sakura asked, but she already knew the answer. She herself was scared when she first saw Robin walk in. She knew it wasn’t his fault, but she couldn’t help it.

“Nothing to worry about. Make sure to rest.” After saying goodbye to Lissa, the tactician left.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four more days had passed until Sakura was discharged from the infirmary. Despite still feeling quite weak, she had insisted on going for a walk through the castle’s garden. Ryoma refused to let her go alone and decided that he would accompany her. Sakura reluctantly agreed. As they walked through the immense garden, Sakura noticed Kiran sitting on a bench nearby, reading what she presumed was one of the castle library’s many books about the many worlds of heroes.

“Brother, I want to talk to the Summoner. I-” she hesitated, “I have to apologize for attacking him.”

“But that wasn’t your fault. You were possessed by-” Ryoma was cut off.

“I know, but I still have to do it.” Sakura interjected, turning from her brother and slowly making her way to Kiran with a newly found courage. As she got closer she noticed the title of the Summoner’s book; “The World of Awakening”. “What are you reading about?” she asked.

The Summoner looked up, startled. “Oh! Hello Sakura, are you feeling better?” he asked with a smile. He’d been very worried for the young princess since they returned from banishing Grima.

She nodded. “Yes. much better thank you.” she replied, then turning her attention back to Kiran’s book. “The World of Awakening? Isn’t that Robin and Lucina’s home?” Sakura inquired.

“Ah, yes. It is. I was curious as to the background of…” he stopped talking. He didn’t want to bring Grima up so soon.

“Grima.” she finished for him. “You don’t have to try to protect me from his memory. I’m not as weak as my family tries to imply.” Kiran sensed an irritated tone he’s never heard from Sakura, but summed it up to her being tired.

“Err, right. Sorry.” he sheepishly said as he closed his book and put it away. “Anyway, what’s up?”

“I wanted to apologise for attacking you and stealing your wallet.” the princess said with a bow. “Please forgive me.”

“Don’t apologise. It wasn’t your fault that you were controlled by an evil dragon.” Kiran said, surprised at Sakura’s sudden apology. “I will be needing my wallet back though.” he added.

As if switched back on, Sakura returned to her usual nervous and awkward self. “R-right!” she fumbled around in her pockets and took out the Summoner’s wallet. “Here.” She handed him the wallet.

He took the wallet, opened it and removed a bill from it. “Care to continue our conversation from last time?” he asked.

“S-sure!” Sakura replied enthusiastically. She sat next to him and he began to tell her about Abraham Lincoln.


End file.
